A few months on from our Succession Planning White Paper, it’s still a very hot topic. Our CEO, Andrew has provided commentary for various articles recently, we have summarised some of his thoughts below.
The FPJ commented that for many UK farmers, the issue of passing on ownership of a farm is of huge concern. Having to work into your retirement isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, yet many simply have no choice. Andrew says, “I think people often don’t know where to begin or make time to sit and think about where future issues will likely occur. The meticulous planning that is fully embedded into your business strategy ensures future-proofing and strategic continuity. Business owners must think about their options and take control of their exit route before it becomes forced. It’s important to consider succession plans for all the key roles within a business, not just the person at the top. It’s similar to a game of chess in that you need to plan a strategy rather than just making the next move. Look at the cohort of up-and-coming younger people in the business and target a group of them to be the potential next leaders: not all will make it to the top and whittling them down is not an admission of failure. Those who don’t make it will still be better than they would have been, and even if they leave the company, it will be a net gain for the industry as a whole.
Recruiters are blessed with the time and resources to map the wider market, we talk to thousands of candidates each month. Companies may as well benefit from all this perspective by engaging with a decent recruitment partner”.
The need for younger generations to join our industries is a key player in the succession conversation, as well as encouraging people to join from outside of our industries.
Andrew continues “While there are a lot of great initiatives for young people, those attending farming recruitment events and training courses are already en route to the sector. We need to attract those without a family interest in farming and horticulture. A history, chemistry or business grad could just as well work in farming or horticulture. The reasons these graduates don’t often enter the sector is that they don’t know about it and have no clue how many great and varied roles exist”.
